Why Us?
by SacrificeTheSin
Summary: This, my readers, is a story about me and my friends getting sucked into Amestris where I am turned into homunculus. Thanks to my friend PokkiChoco for allowing me to make this as a "sequal" to her stories I Hate Vexen and I Hate Vexen PT2. SO, read on.


FMA

NATHAN

"There," I said. I finally finished a transmutation circle. "Finally, I can study the different effects of altering a transmutation circle! This is amazing… And I have your friend Ed to thank for it!"

"Yeah, but now you need to know how to work one." said Kris. She was a diehard FMA fan. "Well? _Kaaaaaat_?"

"Shut up, Kris! I told you I'm looking them up! Sheesh! You'd think they'd listen to me 'cause I'm older but _nooo!_" Kat was on the computer, and she was looking up 'how to look up instructions for using alchemy and transmutation circles'.

"Kat," I said, "Try it without the 'how to look up' part." There was some clicking as she changed her search parameters.

"I FINALLY FOUND IT!" cried Kat. Kris and I just sighed. "Ok, let's see here… Draw circle… place transmutation elements into circle… Ok, we're all set, but did we follow the law of equivalent exchange?" Kat looked serious, as she should.

"Do you think that Kris would let me forget about that? I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to have me turn into a Cornello, or lose an arm." We all laughed at that one. Then, I knelt down on the ground, where I had placed an FMA manga book. It was open to a picture of a transmutation circle.

"What is it exactly are we going to use alchemy to do?" asked Kris.

"Well," said Kat, "What has the mass of an FMA manga book?" We had no idea.

"Forget the mass of the manga book! If we're really alchemists, then we'll be able to use that picture mark ourselves as such." I said. "So, let's all try to make a mark on our right hands that looks like that transmutation circle. Focus on the one I have on the page." We all nodded, and then placed our hands on the transmutation circle's edge.

KAT

Light suddenly flashed in the circle, and I felt a sharp pain on my right hand. I cried out in pain, trying to yank my hands away, but it was almost as if they were glued to the floor. I saw a glowing in the cut on my hand, which was in the shape of a transmutation circle. The glowing stopped, and we jumped back from the floor, staring in amazement at our hands. "Why in the world did you have us do that, you oaf?" I yelled.

"Well, Kat," said Nathan, "You're the ones who went along with me, so that means it's _whose _fault?" We knew he was right. He always is. Almost. "Well, that, and the fact that I thought we could use alchemy to get to the Elrics, and now, we can, by using this!" Nathan took out one of his many inventions. It looked like a piece of glass in a metal frame. He pressed a button on the device, and the screen lit up, showing three small transmutation circles surrounding a larger one. "This is what I call a Transmute Pad, a portable library of usable transmutation circles. It works like an iPod Touch; You just use your finger to sear It can also transmute things into energy, something thought impossible, since energy has no mass, therefore making it unable to be transmuted." Kris gave Nathan an unbelieving glare. "Don't worry Kris. I tuned the battery to supply the chemical power for changing matter into energy." Nathan always was good with all that smart-guy stuff. "Anyways, we need to change the transmutation circle first, so we have plenty of time ahead of us before we're ready to head to Amestris."

"Well?" asked Kris. "What kind of time are we talking about?"

"I would say that we would need at least twelve weeks of research on the effects of the alterations, plus another three or four to perfect it – to, you know, work out the kinks."

"And the alterations?" I asked.

"Well, I have several ideas. First, since it's technically human transmutation to transport people, and people come from nature, but we're going to the Elrics as energy, since we'll want to see moving people that are in _color _we'll need use the anime… We have to use both the agricultural, electric/energy, and human transmutation circles as one, therefore changing the rules of alchemy - a very risky thing to do… So this'll be very hard…" said Nathan.

"I for one don't plan on staying here where we'll be called freaks just for having an imagination, for thinking that this is all real, I mean, because it is!" said Kris. "But if we're the only ones who know how to use alchemy, then we'll become military experiments. AND YOU KNOW HOW I HATE THOSE GOVERNMENT LABS! ESPECIALLY THE ONES WITH ALL THE NEEDLES!" Kris was strapped to a lab table by Vexen when Organization XIII from Kingdom Hearts fell into our world. Ever since, she's been afraid of the doctor's office, hospitals, and secret government labs. But most of all, she has grown to hate needles, especially those connected to syringe guns. She does not like _those_ at all.

"Yeah, well, if the house explodes in an experiment, then the government will come in here and not only make us experiments, but they will break my lab, and most likely make me have to say…" Nathan stopped, took a deep breath, then made an angry manga character face and shook his arms, crying, "WHO'RE-YOU-CALLIN'-SO-SMALL-YOU-CAN'T-SEE-HIM-WITH-A-MICROSCOPE!" We all laughed.

"Nathan," I said, "You really should get us in there, that way you can finally be taller than someone!" Kris and I laughed. Nathan didn't.

"I'M NOT THE SIZE OF A BEAN! AND I'M RIGHT HERE! I CAN HEAR EVERY WORD YOU'RE SAYING!" We all laughed again. Then, we got to work.

-16 WEEKS LATER-

KRIS

_Log # 1 - Journey to the Elrics_

_ Well, this is Kris, and I'm gonna' be keeping a log on our journey to find the Elric brothers. Don't ask me, Nathan says it's good for the brain, and adds culture to the society and… **snore** BORING! Yeah, Nathan, sorry, but we don't really care about that part of it. Anyways, we've done it. Our transmutation circle, while actually breaking the laws of alchemy by being more than one transmutation circle, works. We think. We put a sock into the circle and turned on the FMA anime. Then, when we transmuted it into the anime, it was there, and it was so cool! The transmutation circle that we use is tailored to fit us; it has one central circle which is surrounded by three other circles, which Kat, Nathan and I activate to in turn to activate the entire array. We've also thought about our appearances (and no, I don't mean this in a shallow way), that we might not look as cool as us in anime, so, we're gonna' change the way we look to fix that little problem. So, look out, world, you might see us on TV! Hehehe…_

"Guys?" I called impatiently. Kat and Nathan were upstairs, changing into their FMA clothes.

"QWERTYUIOP!" cried Kat.

"ASDFGHJKL!" Nathan said. Of course. They said stuff like that just to annoy me. I was in a black ninja suit with a hood and headband, and the glove on my left hand had the flamel on it, a symbol supposedly created to increase the effect of an alchemic transmutation. I had my hair up so that it was just like Ed's. If we had masks on, you'd never be able to tell which of us was which. Which is sooooooo cool.

"Are you done yet?" I called up.

"I'll be down to the lab in just a second, so hold on!" replied Nathan.

"What about you Kat?"

"ZXCVBNM!" Only Kat. I sighed. I just couldn't wait! We're going to really do it! We were going to Amestris!

"How do I look?" asked Nathan with a smile. He had used one of his inventions to give him hair like Riku's, only red. And he had a black shirt with red Japanese symbols on it. They read: _Only in Darkness can there be Light. _It's true. Without Darkness, Light would be gone, replaced by Darkness, making the Darkness the Light. The shirt was black, and had a red human transmutation circle on the back. That was dangerous – especially if we're going to be around Al, seeing as the circle could activate the Philosopher's stone, or vice-versa. I'd be mad at him about that later, though. He was wearing black fingerless gloves (he always said he wanted those) and black jeans. He had a Japanese Axel-fan wristband which said Axel in big red Japanese symbols. Of course. Kat came to the lab door, and I heard the buzzer go off.

"GAAHH!" yelled Kat. Then I heard the flamethrowers go off.

"What password did you try this time?" Nathan asked. Kat always tried a different password every time she tried to get in. We even tried changing it to 'password' for her, but it never worked.

"I think I did 'naythinspasswerd' spelled with a y, i, e and no spaces."

"FMA, Kat. It's FMA, just the letters.

"Good thing you told her," I said, "or it'd be another hour just getting her through the door."

"Yeah," Nathan said. After a while, Kat came down, dressed in surprisingly un-burned jeans and a _VOTE FOR PEDRO _shirt. "You know," Nathan said, "all you need is a mullet and a pair of headphones and you'd look like Demyx."

Kat pulled out a wig and headphones then said, "I'm always a step ahead of you." We placed Nathan's mini TV in the center of the transmutation circle, being sure to turn on FMA, along with the Transmute Pad set to energy transmute and a piece of paper with the Japanese words for 'mind', 'body', and 'soul' on it. Kat, Nathan, and I all bent down and placed one hand in our transmutation circle. Then, Nathan murmured under his breath the incantation:

"_We, the children of Heart, Rulers of the Light and Controllers of the Dark, command by the powers of alchemy and Truth that we enter the dimension of the powers of fiction, and by this right, Amestris. May the Circles beneath our hands ignite our souls with powers most unimaginable. May our wishes be fulfilled as we make our dues to the worlds done!"_

There was an unbelievably extreme flash of light, and we were floating near a grey slab of stone, surrounded by the skeletons of alchemic mistakes.

NATHAN

_Log # 2 - Mistakes_

_I've made a huge mistake. When we transmuted the socks into the FMA anime, I forgot that the socks weren't human. Technically, we've made human transmutations with us as the transmutation materials. And, I forgot about the Gate. And Truth. We might not make it to the Elrics. We might not make it anywhere as us. We might be stuck in Amestris as homunculi. We may no longer be human, ever again. So, those who read this know that you may not want to make the mistake that we did…_

_**"Hello my friends. How are you today?"**_Truth. Stupid all-knowing silhouette.

"Just hurry up and get us through here. We'll pay the price, if you care to let us choose it. If not, we not only know alchemy, but know other abilities that don't apply to your rules. For example…" I snapped my fingers and Truth got hit by lightning from all sides. You could tell that he found it amusing, which puzzled me, seeing as he has no features.

"_**Well, I'll be sure to make your fee at least a hundred times worse than it was, but nice try. Heheheh. Have fun!**_**"** Truth disappeared, and the doors opened, and we were surrounded by thousands of purple eyes, staring, mocking… Then came the hands. They prodded and pried and pulled, trying to take us with them.

"Knock it off!" cried Kat. Tears were streaming down her face. "Kris?" She yelped. "Kris, where are you? Kris? What's happening, I can't see! Kris?"

I looked around. Kris was right there, floating around, arms crossed and eyes closed. Only Kris. But that meant that the homunculi in the gate had taken Kat's eyesight for her payment. Could that be it? Or were they prying for more?

"Kat!" I cried, "Look at me! I'm over here!" Kat floated towards me, but was afraid to open her eyes. _ Damn it…_ I thought. "Kris!" was what actually came out of my mouth.

"Yeah?" she said with a bored sigh.

"Use the transmutation circle on my back to get rid of the homunculi. Use it when I say to, alright?" They hesitated at the idea, knowing well what would happen to me if I paid the rest of the toll.

"Alright," they finally replied. Then, I felt the hands grasping us, pulling at our clothes, tugging at our limbs. Then, when it seemed just like the pitch-black darkness would surround us forever, I gave the word and they disappeared. Everyone did. I floated alone in the pure, white light until I hit the ground, where homunculi surrounded me, staring. I knew it was them, because the last thing I heard was, "Can I eat him, Lust?"

KRIS

_Log # 3 – Oppose Me – Or Rather, Don't_

_I can't believe it. Nathan is gone. Where? I couldn't tell you… The last thing I remember, Nathan, Kat, and I were in the Gate. Kat was screaming, her voice filled with horror. I closed my eyes as soon as the doors opened. I couldn't bear to watch. I crossed my arms and hoped that it would all go away. Then, Nathan had me use the transmutation circle on his shirt to get us out, but I don't know what he used for equivalent exchange… I can only assume the worst… But no one had better get in my way while I find him, or there will be no one left to oppose me!_

"Uh… Are you okay?" I heard a small voice as I woke up. It seemed rather…tinny. Tinny!

"AL!" I jumped up and gave Al a hug. He stared at me with his red 'eyes' wide in confusion.

"Who are you?" Ed asked.

"ED!" Kat yelled, glomping the tree next to him.

"Ouch." She said, rubbing her head. I started crying.

"They took him!" I yelped. "Please, Ed, help me find him!" Ed looked at me like I was crazy.

"Who are you, again?" asked Al.

"We're Kris and Kat! I'm Kat. That's Kris." We all laughed except for Kat. "What's so funny? I don't get it!"

"Kat?" Ed asked.

"Yes?" she replied, still unsure of what was happening.

"You're facing the tree you just attacked."

"Oh." said Kat, turning around in the process. "This better?" she asked.

"Yes, you're fine!" I cried. "Ed? We know that you're searching for the stone and all, but the stone may be the only way to save Nathan. So, whadda ya say?" I looked at the Fullmetal Alchemist expectantly, and then he agreed to help. "Thank you!" I cried, glomping him. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Don't worry Al," Kat stated reassuringly, "This'll happen all the time with us here.

"Kat?" he said.

"I'm looking at another tree again, aren't I?" she responded.

? (NATHAN)

_ I'm gonna' give you one chance to get outta here. You can come with me and get revenge on those who treated you as lab rats, or stay here and be abused further… You mean nothing to me. You were my little mistake… I say we kill them here and now, get it over with… Leave - Me - ALONE!… Kat! How'd you use the Darkness?... Can I eat him, Lust? _Memories that I didn't feel belonged to me flashed though my head all at once. Searing pain rushed to the front of my head, almost as if it were threatening to burst my skull. I looked around the white room and saw a pool of water that was reflecting something. I studied it more closely, and saw it was a Grand Arcanum transmutation circle. This thought was nothing compared to the searing in my forehead, with which came a dying thirst, so I drank from the water, unaware of the change in its color as I continued to drink from the pool.

_Red,_ I thought, _why is it that the red of the water is so strangely important… I can't remember…_

"Augh!" I yelped in pain, and the red in the water grew a deeper red, almost to the point where it looked like blood. "R-r-red… S-stone…" Then, I began to drink uncontrollably, I couldn't stop, then, I saw my reflection. My hair was black, as were my clothes. My forehead had a mark on it in the shape of an eye, and my shoulder had a lone Ouroboros tattoo. But my eyes are what finally gave it away. The irises were a shadowy purple. It was all clear. I was a homunculus. And, I had eaten the main ingredient in the Philosopher's Stone. I was going to change. And boy was I right.

"Ah, I see that you are moving along well." A woman in a black dress had waltzed through the door. She was followed by a tall man in a vest and a stout man with beady white eyes.

"Lust… Gluttony… And Greed? I thought you were dead? And why are you here with them? Last time I checked, you guys were sworn enemies."

"You know alchemists, always trying to mess with the balance of nature… Well, I was resurrected when the infamous Crimson Alchemist realized the error of his ways and tried to bring me back. Well, he got me back, and I got revenge. And all thanks to the Crimson Alchemist, I can do this!" Greed walked over to the reflecting pool, the water in which had cleared, and it was reflecting the Great Arcanum circle again. "Now, watch this!" Greed put his hands on the water, and it turned immediately to gold.

"Alchemy…" I whimpered. Then, my thoughts became twisted. Gruesome ideas flashed through my head, and then it was as if my heart had suddenly disappeared. I could not feel anything, and my soul felt dark. I was one of them. I was proud; Pride. I was… complete.

GREED

_To The Master-_

_ The boy has arrived, Master. He has a power much stronger than any I've seen before. It may even match your own, so I do think that he could be an invaluable resource to us in our quest for the Philosopher's Stone. While Fuhrer Bradley does have the connection with the military that we need, the boy still proves to be… Better. I say we send the Furor to the scrap heap and take on the new guy. Anyways, I am (as I write) taking steps to remove our precious Fuhrer Bradley out of the picture. He was soon going to be found out, he and Sloth, anyways, so don't worry, I'll exterminate them before they ruin our plans._

_ With Warmest Regards (Hah!),_

_ -Greed_

I sealed the letter and dropped it in the mailbox. Back at the lair, the boy was training. Envy had decided to see what power he'd gotten.

"Push harder!" Envy cried. "Remember your past life! Allow it to define your abilities! Let it control you, let it become anger, and use the anger to summon your powers!" The boy's eyes and tattoos glowed, a dark, dark purple. Lust and Gluttony gasped in awe as the boy changed his shape. His hands and feet changed, forming into paws and claws. The boy's face grew into a muzzle, and razor sharp black fangs grew from his teeth. He grew a long, bushy tail, and his hair grew to cover his entire body. Then, he threw back his canine head and let out a menacing howl.

"So," I said, walking through the door. "His homunculi power is canine transformation? Pity, I was going to have him grown into a human-aging homunculus, if he had the powers to withstand the transformation. But, I guess not." I gave the wolf-boy a smirk.

"Well," he growled, "I guess I'll just have to show you what I've learned in my past, of my abilities, of my deepest powers!" The boy instantly changed back to his original shape. Then, he clapped his hands and slammed them on the ground. A pillar of stone slammed into me. I sent up my shield, and felt no pain. Then, the boy did the strangest thing. He clapped his hands once more, and he changed into the form of Furor Bradley. He drew a sword and lunged, and it passed through me. It sliced straight through my arm. Amazing. Then, he jumped away, changed back, and thrust his fingers at me. They grew and sharpened into large, long needles. I jumped by them, and used one of my hardened arms to try and punch him in the gut, but he dodged. Next he did something that was neither a power of alchemy nor homunculi. He raised his hand, and a portal of what seemed to be pure Darkness. He stepped through it and then disappeared. A ray of Darkness slashed through me, and the boy stepped out in front of me through yet another portal.

"Had enough?" he asked, his body in the form of my own, giving me a smirk of my own hatred and greed.

"No," I spat at him. He just closed his eyes and smiled, laughing to himself as he shrank to his own size again.

"Good, cuz' I have one more trick up my sleeve…" He took several steps back, then clapped his hand and made a gun out of his hands, saying as he aimed at me, "Eat lightning!" One-thousand mega-volts of lightning surged through my frame. I shuddered, then collapsed on the ground. "How about now, Greed? Have you had enough? Have I proven myself? Have you figured out that I can't be beaten?"

"Yes. I have. But it's not my opinion that counts. It's the Master's." With that, I stalked out of the room, leaving him and the others to wonder if they'd made an enemy of me yet again.

KAT

_Log # 4 - Blind to the Light, and the Dark_

_ I'm blind, now. Both to the Light, and the Dark. I cannot summon dark corridors, use my forms, none of it, it's all gone. Even my Light is gone, especially now that Nathan is gone. Kris told me what happened. Nathan used himself up, just to save us. And since we don't know how to get out, we're stuck here, here in Lior, and Central, and Ishval. We can't leave. And now we need the stone. But we know no way to do it without human sacrifice. Boy, what did we get ourselves into?_

"Al?" I asked. "What did you feel when you went into the Gate?" Al didn't respond. "I'm blind now, Al. They took my sight away from me! I can only see the inside of my eyelids, whether they're open or not…" I could feel Al's piercing red eyes staring at me. It was almost as if my mind were doing the seeing for me.

"In order to gain anything, human kind must first give something up. That is the law of equivalent exchange. So, you gave up your sight, but what did you gain, Kat? Well?"

"Passage into this world," I mumbled. I heard Ed gasp, but he didn't say anything.

"Okay, and what do you want now?" Al questioned.

"My sight back…and my powers…"

"Now, what are you willing to give up? What are you going to give in order to get your sight and powers back?"

"Something that none of us have, but all of us have _need_ of. The Stone." I stood and turned to face where Ithought Ed and Kris were sitting. "We need the Stone, Ed -"

"Kat. Turn around. You're talking to a tree." Oh. Right.

"Thanks, Kris. **hem hem!** We need the Stone, Ed. All of us. Al needs it for his body, you need it for your arm and leg, I need it for my eyes, and Kris needs it to get Nathan and his soul back!" I was breathing heavy, and I felt angry.

"Kat, I know how you feel, but worrying won't get us anywhere. We need to find the Stone first. We need to find the Stone before we can fix anyone. It's that," Ed became deathly silent for a minute. Then, I heard him mumble, "_And_ that I have no intentions on using it to save a filthy homunculus…"

KRIS

"HE'S NOT A FILTHY HOMUNCULUS! AND HE'S MY FRIEND, YOU MORON! AND AT LEAST HE'S TALLER THAN YOU, DWARFY!" I was not happy. Ed Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, my hero, had just called my friend, the one among us who probably knew more of the possibilities of alchemy than even Ed, a homunculus! And a filthy one, too! I was… outraged. I punched Ed in the face, then stole his map and grabbed Kat roughly by the arm. "We're leaving, Kat. We'll go to Central, take the upcoming State Alchemist test, and then we'll get into the library and _make_ our own Philosopher's Stone… Then we'll get Nathan back and show _him_…" I looked at the map. "Why the hell did they need to make these maps in Amestrian?" I tore up the map threw it on the ground. "Forget it! Kat, we'll find our own way to Central!"

"Are you sure that's smart?" Kat asked in a faltering voice. "I mean, what if we run into someone like that Barry guy? That wouldn't be good, I mean, I can't see as it is, I don't need some weirdo dicing me up!"

"We'll be fine, Kat. I mean, I am going to become the Ninja Alchemist, after all!"

"Kris? You do know that they only give out one certification per term, right?"

I went silent. "Well, Kat, thanks for dropping that bomb on me."

PRIDE (FUHRER BRADLEY)

"Miss Douglas?" I walked out of my office to find my secretary on the telephone, speaking in a hushed voice. "Is that…?" She nodded her head. I quickly strode to the door and turned the lock, removing the key. I picked up my own office phone and tapped into the line. "Sloth! Pride! I bear bad tidings."

"Really? Greed died again?" Sloth muttered to Envy, obviously not concerned.

"Not on our end, you idiot! On yours! Greed has seen the boy's powers. They are unimaginable! He has mine! He has Lust's! Greed's powers too! The boy has powers that don't apply to alchemy or homunculi! But, worst of all, the boy has taken to calling himself Pride! And he has the eye! The All-Seeing Eye! Greed is taking steps to get you two out of the picture as we speak!" Sloth hung up the phone immediately. I did the same.

"Well, Pride, you know what this means, don't you? Well?" Sloth gave me a… Well, an 'inhuman' stare.

"Yes. I know. In order to survive, I must rid the world of the boy."

"Good luck doing that while you're dead," said the voice behind me.

"Greed!" Sloth cried. She liquefied herself and lunged towards Greed, but he held up a matchbox. He tossed it into her liquefied form. Sloth froze, a stream of water hanging mid-air. Then, he clapped his hands together and placed them on Sloth. She suddenly turned green, and then, began to evaporate. Greed turned, then said to me over his shoulder, "You're next. I suggest that you burn that safe of yours and sleep with one eye opened for a while."

SACRIFICE (NATHAN)

"So, Lust?" I asked.

"Yes?" she replied. We were sitting in a furnished castle, in the dead city underneath the Central. Its previous occupants had been destroyed, their souls used to forge the Philosopher's Stone.

"Homunculi… Do they have – that is to say – that you and I and the others… Do we have…?"

"No, kid." Lust said wearily. "No, we don't have souls. We may sometimes think we do, but we can only feel the sin of our alchemist creator. So we have nothing. Nothing but memories and sin…" She looked down at her feet as she finished, as if regretting something.

"Tell me, Lust… Can we regret? Can we think that we have done wrong?"

"To tell you the truth, kid, I think our existence is wrong. The fact that our lives suffer because a low-life alchemist has screwed up is wrong!" She stood as she said this, anger swelling through her.

"No!" I cried, "No, I made the mistake of giving up my body! You're wrong! I know that my friends didn't try to send me to this form! It's nobody's fault but my own! I sacrificed my life to save them because I knew that I would be able to live again when they found the Stone! And, I have powers that aren't my own, because the Light in my soul is more powerful than any sin! I am proud to know that I shall not die homunculi, unlike you!" Envy snickered behind me. "Who're you laughing at? You'll die a homunculus too! And you as well, Gluttony! All of you will, even your precious Danté! She can't live forever, that's just how life works, alchemy or not!"

"Really? Because I've been swapping bodies for hundreds of years, Pride. Or should I call you Sacrifice? Isn't that a much more fitting name, seeing as you sacrificed your life for a _dead cause_?" I turned to face the woman in the doorway.

"You…" I muttered. Danté stepped towards me. "I know what you're going to do! You can't trick me into doing your bidding like them! I won't fall for your stupid little tricks! I shall not be fooled! I am superior, even to you, because my sins are not my hindrance; they are my companion, my compassion!"

"Well, I may die one day, but not within the lifetime you'll have, I'll ensure that. In fact," Danté said, holding out her hand, causing a sword decorated in roses to appear, "I think it will happen a lot faster than you think!" She thrust out at me with the sword, and I jumped back, clapping my hands. I slammed them into the sword tip, where they merged with it, turning them to metal. I punched at her, and she jumped back, so I morphed into a wolf, sending the metal from my paws to my fangs. I lashed out, snapping at Danté, my muzzle foaming, teeth shining. "You think a bite of metal is all it takes to kill me? I made sure to incinerate my last body, and my original remains have long since tuned to dust! I am immortal!" She clapped her hands and threw a ball of purple fire straight at me. I ran, morphed into Roxas, and opened a Dark Corridor in the floor under Danté. She fell through, unable to react to being swallowed by the Darkness. I laughed, a Roxas-type laugh, and then changed back. I turned to Envy, who had been relaxing and enjoying the show. Envy was looking at me with what could have been fear in its face, if it had emotions, that is. (I say 'it' because Envy has forgotten whether or not it was male or female. I know, weird…) "Danté cannot escape from the Dark Corridor without me or the men who taught me to use the Darkness letting her out. Envy, I want you to take my place when she gets back so that I can take your place on your mission."

"Why would I take the heat for you, you Devil's spawn?" Envy jumped down from its perch and yawned. I punched it, and looked it in the eyes, holding up my hand, beginning to open another Dark Corridor. "Okay! I'll do it!" Envy cried, changing, it's voice adapting to imitate my own. Good, I thought, changing myself into Envy's form. I snapped my fingers and lightning flew from my hand, striking Lust and Gluttony.

"That way they can't rat me out until it's too late," I explained. I jumped up to where Envy had been sitting, then sat and grinned, opening the portal.

"You PARASITE!" Danté screeched, pulling herself from the black hole in the floor. "I gave you immortality! I saved your soul from the Gate! I gave you _existence_! And what do you show me in return? NOTHING!" Danté threw another purple fireball at Envy, and it hit it, causing Envy to sink to the ground. "Envy!" Danté said. I jumped to the ground, bowing to the unsuspecting Danté. "You shall go eliminate Sacrifice's friends who made it here."

"Yes, Madame Danté," I said.

"Oh, and so that it is even more fulfilling, take his shape. That way, they'll be betrayed by their own insider." Danté began to cackle maniacally. I took my natural shape, Danté still unknowing of my deception.

"Of course, Madame Danté." I bowed and strode out of the room. I held up my hand to open a Dark Corridor, and then hesitated as Danté walked out of the room. I looked back at Envy and said to it, "You see? Was that so hard?" all the while strolling through a Dark path to my friends of the Light.

"Hmmm… Now where would I go first if I were Kris?" I had transformed into what I was before I became a homunculus… or at least, what I think I looked like… It was all fuzzy in my mind after the part where Truth showed up… Anyways, I had red hair like Riku's and was wearing my shirt that had the human transmutation circle on it. Very risky, but it'd have to do. I had the Axel-fan bracelet on. "She'd be with Ed and Al. But where are they? I can't remember what episode I set the TV to…" I walked out of the Central HQ to find myself looking at a banner that said _State Alchemist Certification Exams: Open to All Learned Alchemists_. That's when it hit me. "The State Alchemist Exams! Of course! Why didn't I think of it before?" I ran behind the back of the HQ and saw Kris and Kat standing in the ring where the elements for the practical Exam were taking place. Ed and Al were on the sidelines, watching. Several guard-bots had been set to attack anyone who snuck on by. I, unfortunately, didn't know this. One of the bots grabbed me from behind. "Gah! Get off me, you tin-head!" I began to thrash as the robot dragged me into custody, alerting a human guard to come and retrieve me. "Kris! Kris, help!" I cried. She was stunned from the second she heard my voice.

"Nathan?" she said. She grinned at the guard-bot, started running at us, and clapped her hands together. Ed must've figured out that this wasn't part of her exam procedure.

"Kris! Don't try it, or you'll have to face me!" he cried. Oops.

KRIS

_Log #4 – The Dogs of the Military_

_Ed, Al, Kat and I went to Central to take the State Certification Exam. If I make it, I'll end up as a dog of the military… But right in the middle of my practical test, Nathan showed up, being pulled away by a guard-bot (they were created to be like that late half-bot colonel guy). So, Kat and I had to show them what it means to mess with my friends. But Ed wanted to stay on the good side of the military (no arguments there) and decided to try and stop us (HUGE argument there). So now, I get to have some fun. Heheheheheh…_

"Kat! Keep Ed busy while I get Nathan!" I cried, running towards the guard.

"Are you CRAZY?" Kat called towards the wall behind me. "I'm blind! As in, my eyes don't _see_!" But I didn't listen. I just ran straight towards Nathan, anger in my eyes. I clapped my hands together and did a front-flip, slamming my alchemy-ready hands into the ground. The alchemy shot a column of stone out from the ground, which propelled me in a perfect arc towards the guard-bot feet first. I kicked him, and he fell over. But, he fell on top of Nathan. He wriggled his head out from under the robot and groaned.

"If I wanted to be crushed by a robot, I could have made one and had it sit on me three days ago before we left! Now get him off me!" Nathan wasn't happy. Oh well. I grabbed a knife out of my pocket, clapped my hands, and fused the metal to my gloves. I punched the robot across the yard and helped Nathan up. "Thank you," he said, brushing dust of his shoulders. "Now, if you promise that you won't freak out when I show myself, I'll get Ed and Al of Kat's back for you."

"Uh… O.K.?" I agreed, unsure of what he meant. He closed his eyes and changed his shape. He changed his shape back into what he looked like as a homunculus. Black hair, black clothes, and an eye on his forehead. He seemed somewhat more imposing, and he had gotten taller.

KAT

As soon as he heard what Kris said, I heard Ed turn his arm into a sword.

"ED, I SWEAR IF YOU BEHEAD ME, I'LL HAVE KRIS MAKE ME A HOMUNCULUS AND I'LL COME BACK TO KILL YOU!" I was scared half to death. Then I heard rocks being transmuted into…! INTO SOMETHING THAT'S COMING TOWARDS ME! "AAAAAH!" I cried cowering. But then, I stopped. I could tell, somehow, that the rocks weren't coming for me.

"_Oof!_" That was Ed. But who? Who could've done it? Not Kris, she was helping Nathan. Unless…

"Hey! Get away from my brother!" That was Al. And then there was a clang. Al had fallen down. "Hey!" I heard Al get off the ground. And then I heard a Dark Corridor open. Al screamed, and so did Ed. Then, I heard Nathan talking.

"So Kat? When do you think I should let them out? Huh?" Nathan? Opening a Dark Corridor?

"Nathan," I said, probably staring at a wall thirty feet away, "Why is it that you can use my powers, and probably my sight, when they are _mine?_"

"The human transmutation," Nathan said. When you were penalized for using human transmutation, you were relieved of your sight and your powers over darkness." That made sense. How sight and my only very useful skill were enough to save Nathan, however, did not.

"But what about Kris?" I asked. "How come I was the only one who lost anything?"

"Weeeell… Kris did lose something…" Leave it to Nathan to speak in riddles.

"What?" I demanded.

"Kris lost her dark side. Have you seen how I seem so much more imposing? And I have most of her fighting skills. And you know Kris's notebook? The one with all the stories? Well that was in her back pocket, and it got taken from her! So now, I know everything she put inside of it! HAHAHAHAHA! Ow!" Kris must've punched him. Good. That'll teach him to steal something from a girl.

"Just help me up, please…" I said, sighing. I reached out my hand and Nathan grabbed it to pull me up. And that's when the strangest thing happened. I _saw_. Only everything was blue, all different shades, like a sort of magical vision. I pulled my hand away, and everything went dark. I grabbed his hand, and I could see. "Kris! I can see! I mean, everything might be blue, but still, it's better than going it blind, ha-ha!"

"Kat, I hate to break it to you, but in order to use this new sight of yours, you and I would always have to be together. Plus, if I go down in a fight, so would you."

"True…" I mumbled. Then I turned to Nathan, my eyes sad. That's when I saw that there was a large eye on his forehead, which glowed with an extremely bright white light. "Kris! The symbol on Nathan's head! Copy it onto my hand!" I held up my hand for Kris to white on, and everything went dark, but slowly, my vision began to seep back to my eyes as the marking was completed. Finally, I could see in color, just as before.

"So Kat?" Nathan said, smiling, "when should I let Ed and Al out of the Dark Corridor?"

SACRIFICE (NATHAN)

"YOU LEFT THEM IN THE CORRIDOR?" Kat cried.

"Uh, yeah, that's one of my powers now, so, I figured why not use it to help us?"

"Nathan, Kat's right, they could be anywhere in this world or in the world of Kingdom Hearts, or maybe even Earth."

"Oh." I replied. "But, you see, I don't think it works like that. I used it to trap Dante so I could get out here, and when I opened it back up, she was just hopped out. She was dizzy, but still there. And alive."

"Oh." Kat and Kris said.

"So, let them out?"

"Yeah," said Kris. I raised my hand and the Corridor opened. At first, nothing happened, but then, Ed and Al came racing towards me. I put up my shield (which, unlike Greed's, is just a silver orb around the area it's protecting) and they bounced back. Ed clapped his hands to try and use alchemy, but Kris kicked him.

"Don't you hurt him! That's my friend I was talking about! Now, I would like for you to say sorry!" Kris wasn't happy. Not an unusual thing. But I couldn't believe she had just bested the Fullmetal Alchemist. Huh. Kat got up and glared at him, and she seemed happy that she could glare at something in the right direction.

"I heard that you were having some trouble here, Fullmetal?" The Fuehrer had walked in unexpectedly. We were all scared out of our wits. But I knew I had the most to fear, seeing as the Fuehrer probably would try to kill me the minute he saw my tattoo. I began to walk away, but the Fuehrer stopped me, nearly stopping my heart at the same time. "So, you're this young lady's friend, homunculus?" I whirled around, exposing the eye tattooed on my forehead. Dang it. Now he knew for sure.

"Uh… Hehehe… You see, sir, while I did in fact drink the red water, it didn't change me, at least, not yet, anyway…" I could tell that he knew that I knew that he was a homunculus too, and I could also tell that he thought I was replacing him in his little organization thingy. But I couldn't tell him that I didn't want to replace him – then he'd have a reason to kill. Talk about a sticky situation…

"Young lady, if you want to become a state alchemist, you'll have to follow orders. Sometimes, these orders will test your ability to go against what you feel and terminate with extreme prejudice. So, young lady," he turned to Kris as he said these last words, "In the name of the military and government of Amestris, I will give you your alchemist certification if you exterminate this abomination."

"I ain't no abomination!" I cried, clapping my hands. This was gonna get ugly. I slammed them into the ground, sending cobblestones flying towards the Fuehrer. When they made contact, I was surprised to see Kris under the rubble.

"I'm sorry, Nathan," she said, getting up, "but getting my certification is the only way we can fix you and Kat, and it's the only way we can get home… I'm sorry for this -" she jabbed me in the ribcage, "and this -" she clapped her hands together, slamming them into a nearby pillar, which sent stones straight into my gut, "but most of all, Nathan, I am sorry that you had to go through all of this -" and she clapped her hands again, turning the metal in her gloves back into a knife, and went to stab me. She stopped, hesitating for just a moment, and then she broke down. Tears were streaming from her eyes, her face red. Kat, Ed, and Al rushed up to her, whispering comforting things, leaving me alone. That was when the Fuehrer struck. Bradley ran up and attacked me with the flat of his palm, and when I went to block it, he applied pressure to my Ouroboros tattoo. That was what literally sent me off the deep end.

KRIS

_Log #5 – HE'S A FREAKING CRAZED HOMUNCULUS_

_Nathan is now a homunculus, and even though we found him, things somehow managed to snowball into a big huge horrible mess. On the bright side, I might get my certification… if I can kill Nathan now that he's given in to the madness within him. Sacrifice… In order us to be here, he sacrificed his life as a human. In order for him to stay alive, he sacrificed his sanity to gain power… Now, it made sense why he didn't give in…_

"_Heheheheh…_" Nathan was kneeling on the ground after the attack from the Fuehrer. But he was laughing. Maniacally. "_Heheheheheheh! Hahahahaha! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA!_" It sounded like he had lost it, which meant that he probably had. Normally, he doesn't act _this _crazy. He got up from the ground with his shoulders tilted at an odd angle. He cracked his neck, and opened his eyes. They were the homunculi purple that they had been before, but his pupils were extremely dilated. He laughed again, quieter this time, but the menace was still there.

"Nathan? Are you O.K.?" I asked. Then I saw the eye tattoo on his head. It was glowing. It must've become active when he blocked the attack from Bradley…

"_Kriiiiiiii-iiiiiiis?_" said the creepy/maniacal voice behind me.

"AAAHH!" I jumped back, clapping my hands around the knife blade, turning it into a shuriken. I thrust it at Nathan. It struck him and spiraled across his chest, but it healed nearly immediately. Stupid homunculi. Why'd you all have to have unbelievable healing powers?

"_Kris, Kris, Kris… Haven't you figured it out? I am called Sacrifice because it is both my virtue and my sin. I can sacrifice my human limitations, making sacrifice my sin, giving me unimaginable power through sacrifice. However, I can sacrifice something of a slightly smaller value to heal or purify something, making it my virtue. And to think that this is all possible because you sacrificed my life to save your own. That was survival of the fittest, and I admire the fact that you managed to survive the Gate without suffering physical harm._" He tore off the part of his shirt where the shuriken had cut through the arm, revealing his shoulder. It was where the Ouroboros mark was, glowing a sickly-looking purple. "_I am here today thanks to Truth, the Keeper of the Gate. And since I survived the Gate the only way that he didn't know of, he imparted a respectable amount of knowledge to me. I now understand the properties of the Ouroboros, the symbol of eternal power. I have used it as a transmutation circle so that I no longer need to follow equivalent exchange._"

"That's impossible!" cried Ed," Alchemy like that has never been tested! It's unthinkable! Even the Philosopher's Stone needs equivalent exchange one way or another! Why do you think I still have this metal arm and leg? Or why it is that Al is still a bodiless soul? If I use it for my leg and arm, I might never be able to fix Al! And if I use it to reform Al's body, his soul could just disappear! All that would be left is his body, and I could never live with that…" Ed's head dropped in resignation after those last words. "Alchemy on such a level is bound to repent eventually, and if it goes on for too long, then you will be consumed in order to repay the debt of equivalent exchange. So why you'd even try such alchemies is beyond me. Now get lost, before I make you." He crossed his arms in defiance, giving Nathan a scowl.

"_I think not. Don't you see? I have given up my human limitations in order to have an unlimited use of alchemy. And while I have slipped into the madness, I feel enlightened! Power beyond your imagination can be yours with just a simple clap of the hands! And then you, like me, shall be invincible. So, Kris? Ed? Will you join me? You just have to give up your limitations, and then you will be like me, the ultimate being - a deity! Hahahahaha!_" He grabbed his wrists and transmuted his bones into sharp, jutting blades. "_See? There is no need for equivalent exchange once you give up your limitations. Even human transmutation cannot limit my powers! So what do you say?_"

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline!" I tried to punch him but got knocked back. Which, of course, hurt. He lunged at me, swinging his… uh, swords at my neck, just barely missing each time. "Nathan! Snap out of it! This isn't like you! It's the madness! And the homunculus in you! But you are stronger than that! You can fight it! I know you can! You just need to try!" He slashed again, this time cutting my cheek. "That's it…" I said, clapping my hands. I slammed them into the ground and thrust my hands Nathan's way, sending a wave of kunais towards him. His silver shield flashed up, stopping the kunais before they hit him. "Damn it!" I cried, jumping as his thrust his own arms, sending the kunais my way again. I pulled up a wall of earth to shield me. They came smashing through, and each one scratched me just enough to feel the pain scourge through my body. "Ow," I mumbled falling back. I fell down, hoping that enough of Nathan was in there for him to not kill me. It was up to Ed and the others, now.

SACRIFICE (NATHAN)

I felt weird. It was like half of me, my darker half, was speaking from somewhere that wasn't inside of me. Like I said, weird. I could tell that I was the one doing these things, I could feel the pain in my body, and my body movements felt like they would normally, but still so far away. It was stranger when Kris passed out, because I felt happiness from the darker me, and a huge surge of anger from… real me.

"How could you be happy? You just knocked out your – my – _our _friend! That is so wrong!" I was ticked.

"_But I am not you, and therefore, she isn't my friend._" Dark me, Sacrifice, spoke, and my mouth moved. I could also feel one of my eyes revert to its non-dilated brown. Great, Ed, Kat, Al, and Bradley could hear us, and I looked like a freak. "_I am the homunculus within you. You were right when you were talking with Lust earlier; the Light within your soul is too great to be overshadowed entirely, unless it is removed._" The eye on my head started to become more painful, and I heard a third voice in my head.

**"**_**I told you that your punishment would be greater than before, and I am **_**true**_** to my word, alchemist!" **_

"TRUTH? Please tell me your voice doesn't come out of my mouth… It's bad enough two voices come out, but a third? Really?" I was totally confused.

"Nathan?" Kat said that.

"Uhh, give me a sec…"

"_No! I will not let you control me, inferior being!"_

_**"Well, kid, how does it feel to be called inferior by yourself? Ha-ha!"**_

"Okay, Truth, I get it! Now be a good boy and… and… And get the hell out of my body!" That was a major lapse for me there. I'd never sworn before, but now, well, I was under pressure. Literally. My head felt like it would explode if one of these knuckleheads didn't get out of my head now!

_**"Well, kid, have fun with this new development, and, if you're nice, I'll come and visit from time to time, K? Hahahahah!" **_With that, Truth left, giving my head some small bit of relief.

_"There," _said Sacrifice, "_Now that he's stopped taking my space, I can continue with torturing them…"_ After taking over my conscious again, he held out my hands and one of the bone blades contracted with a sharp pain, and while he probably didn't feel it, I did. Then, he… no, we took off at light speed, running around the square. He dragged the bone around, making a large circle. Then, he… I mean, we stopped at regular intervals, and we'd draw an apparatus; an eye like the one on my forehead with a symbol in it. Then, we (yay, I got it this time!) headed for the center, and, narrowly missing Kris, drew a large triangle with three more symbols in it. Then, on the outer edge of the triangle he (damn it!), WE drew three more eyes, complete with three more symbols. Subconsciously, I knew what they stood for, probably because of Sacrifice's thoughts: Fire, blizzard, lightning, cure, air, gravity, dark, light, and twilight, the nine usable spells in Kingdom Hearts. We drew three large sacrificial transmutation circles and jumped into the air, hovering over the center. _"Now," _he said, smirking, _"Activating this circle will be my final act within this body. I am bound to this body the same way Al's soul is bound to his armor. The elements represented by these runes are the elements that make up my soul, the elements that shall give me true life! With this transmutation circle, I shall sacrifice the abilities this body has left, mainly magic use, transmutation, and the ability to support human life, and replace them with the elements. I shall have an invincible body, a body even that pompous homunculus Greed couldn't even dream of having. And, using up Nathan's life force shall be a breeze, now that Truth has worn him down!" _ He was right. I could feel the energy leaving my body. It was like the presence of the circle was wearing me down, slowly but surely eliminating me. I knew that my only hope was that Ed, Al, and Kat would do something before he went through with it. I sent out strong signals to them, hoping they'd hurry up and save me. Then, just as he was about to cross his arms and activate the circle, he gasped. Kat had jumped into the circle holding a large metal key, looking like she was ready to kill someone.

KAT

"SACRIFICE, GET THE HELL OUT OF NATHAN'S BODY!" I was not in a good mood.

_-Kat…_

"Nathan?" Nathan's voice had cut through the chaos in my head, sounding like he was inside me.

_-Kat… the black symbol in the center… it stands for Darkness… if you activate just that part… maybe it would throw him out of balance… maybe it'd keep him distracted long enough for me to at least try to overpower him…_

"But how? If I use alchemy, then you'll die! And If I just let him do as he pleases, then you'll still die!" Then it hit me. I grabbed Kris' knife and turned it into a key. I had an idea, and, if it worked, it might save Nathan from being totally destroyed. I ran into the center of the transmutation circle, the part marked with the symbol for Darkness, and carved a keyhole in one of the cobblestones, clapping my hands and pushing the key into the drawing. It went in, and I heard a clicking noise, so I quickly turned the key, causing the symbol to glow a strange black light. Darkness began to slowly travel up the key, beginning to envelop me. At the same time, the rest of the circle began to activate itself on me.

_-Kat… The circle is created using the nine spells of heart: Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Cure, Gravity, Air, Light, Dark, and Twilight._

The circle sprang to life in order of the spells: A section began to glow orange and burst into flames, and then a blue section started to freeze over, jagged with ice. A yellow section became suddenly electric, and between the thunder and ice, healing green glows sprang up, closer to me, but still not close enough to stop the pain. Man, being consumed by the Darkness takes a lot out of a girl! A whirlwind sprang up in a grey section of the circle, and a purple section began to increase its gravity, pulling at me, but still not enough to free me from the Darkness.

_-The only way to stop the transmutation is to stop the Darkness, but in order to do that, you'd become a homunculus, or even a Heartless… And without the Keyblade, you'd multiply, and then…_

"No," I said, standing up through the pain. "I, A CHILD OF HEART AND RULER OF THE DARKNESS, ASK THE DARKNESS TO OBEY ME! LET IT FOLLOW MY LEAD AND LET IT HALT THE EXISTENCE OF THE HOMUNCULIAN SOUL!" I removed the key from the ground then thrusting the key through Sacrifice's heart, the Darkness on the key spreading through to his being. This would hopefully extinguish the homunculus in Nathan. Theoretically, freeing Nathan from Sacrifice would make him human, but I don't think that Truth would let it be that simple. There was an inhuman screech, and a wisp of blue-grey smoke seeped through the eye on Nathan's forehead, trying to take a human form, but just as it did, it began to disappear. A chilling wind blew through the place, and we all heard Sacrifice's voice say:

_You've not seen the last of me, humans… I shall be back… and I shall win the boy…_

Nathan's body dropped to the ground, where Ed walked up to him, knelt down, and felt a pulse. We all let out a breath we weren't aware we were holding.

"Well," The Fuhrer said. "I guess we're giving out three State certifications this year, don't you agree, Fullmetal?"

"Yeah," Ed said, "These guys sure deserve it…"

NATHAN

I woke up in the infirmary. Kris, Ed, Kat, and Al were looking over me.

"You know what, Al?" Ed mumbled, obviously unaware of the fact that I was awake, "I never really noticed the fact that he's actually short… Huh."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SMALLER THAN AN AMOEBA?" I jumped out of the bed and started to attack Ed, jabbing and kicking, Ed dodging the whole time. I landed a blow, and he stumbled back, fully into attack mode. He went to punch using his automail arm, when Al stopped him.

"Brother!" he cried, "You cannot hurt an injured person in a hospital! It is rude!" Ed mumbled something under his breath, which earned him a smack from Al.

"I'm… Sorry…" It took Ed a while to get the sentence out, and when he finally did, Al whacked him again. "What now?" Ed asked, a vein on his forehead popping out in anger.

"Ask him how he is, Brother!"

"Fine!" he grunted, turning to me while he cleared his throat. "How are you…?"

"Nathan," I finished, "And I'm fine, except for this pain in my hand…" I held up the hand marked with a transmutation circle. Ed looked at it intently, trying to analyze which array it was when Al asked the big question; the _punch _lineof my joke.

"Well? How is it? Do you need a doctor?" He sounded very worried, even though his face was stationary.

"I think its fine…" I said, wiggling my fingers. In the same moment, I curled my fingers into a fist and bopped Ed on the nose. He got angry, and Al had to hold him back.

"GET OVER HERE, YOU LITTLE RUNT! I'M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU YET! LET ME AT HIM, AL!"

I snapped at the 'runt' comment, and it took Kris and Kat together to stop me from smashing through Al to get to Ed.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING RUNT, YOU MICROSCOPIC FREAK!"

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A MIDGET, SHORTY!"

"He didn't say that, Brother," Al commented. The fight continued.

"LOOK WHO'RE YOU CALLING AN AMOEBIC ANOMALY, YOU BEAN-SIZED CHILD!"

Ed and I went to scream again when we both stopped suddenly, drooped our heads and sighed, "I ran out of words for 'short'…" Al, Kat, and Kris all laughed. "IT'S NOT FUNNY!" We screeched in unison, causing everyone to fall over. Then, we both looked at each other.

"You know what, Ed?" I said, putting my arm around his neck.

"What?" he replied, smiling and doing the same.

"This could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

After a while, Ed spoke again. "You know what else?"

"What?"

"You, Kris, and Kat should spar me, so that the Fuhrer can properly assess you!"

"Sure! Are you up for it, guys?" I asked.

"Yeah, sounds cool," Kat said.

"I'm fine with that," Kris said, "With only one condition: I get to fight Mustang!"

"Alright. I'll get Roy down here so that we can do this." Ed said, walking out of the room.

We all went out to the courtyard, dressed in the State alchemist coats given to us. The Fuhrer was waiting with Roy. Ed and I strode into the circle and bowed to each other. Then, the battle commenced. Ed clapped his hands and slapped the ground, causing a wave of stone to rush forward. I jumped onto my hands and propelled myself onto the wave, running toward Ed, who laughed, watching me go nowhere as the ground moved like a treadmill. I smiled politely while clapping my hands and slamming them into the ground, causing it to stop moving and send tentacles of stone to constrict Ed. I made sure to have the tentacles hold Ed's arms apart so that he couldn't perform alchemy.

"Well," I said, "Now that that is settled, let's see if I can find what makes you tick…" I took out a piece of chalk and drew a formation on Ed's automail arm, and then the same on his automail leg. Then I drew it gain on his shirt, and once more on his forehead. I drew the same things on my own body. "There," I said, grinning. I crossed my arms the way Al does to use an array and then let alchemy do its work. After the flash of blue light, it seemed as though nothing had happened. Then, I moved. I waved my arm in the air, and at the same time, Ed waved his. 'Good,' I thought, 'Now I can do this…' I clapped my hands and placed one on my right hand. Nothing happened on my arm, but Ed's automail changed into a blade.

"Oh crap," he said, staring at his metal hand.

"Yup!" I said. "Now," I began, smiling, "If you admit that I'm awesome and that you're a total short loser; I repeat, _short loser_, you can get your body's control back, and we can resume." I felt my own limbs tugged by Ed's sudden rush of angry adrenaline, and I could tell that he realized that the control worked both ways if he could just cut loose on adrenaline.

"Ohohohoho!" Ed said with a sly smile, "So you want my humiliation for your happiness? No way, kid!"

"KID? WHO'RE YOU CALLING KID, SHRIMPY?" Oops. I gave Ed exactly what he wanted; an adrenaline rush. Accept he forgot that whatever he did, I did, and that made every attack he used my attack, too. We clapped hands and two walls of stone rushed to meet each other, littering the ground with rubble. This only made Ed angrier, so he made a spear and thrust it towards me, and I did the same to him. The spears made contact with each other, clattering onto the ground. Ed had us run up and grab them. We slashed at each other symmetrically, and after a bit of this, Ed got tired out as the adrenaline left him, giving me control.

"There," I said, "Now, I'll give you one more chance, Ed. You can accept humiliation, or accept defeat!" I began laughing, but then the Kat began booing, so I shot her a glare and went back to talking. "But, uh, it's your choice."

"You know what? Fine. I'm a total…" Ed began with a clap of his hands, which in turn caused me to do the same.

"Crap!" I said, gasping.

"_Short…_" Ed grunted at the mention of the word, slamming his hands into the ground with me, making walls of stone which could've been a circular, symmetrical maze – but I knew better. It was a transmutation circle. "LOSER!" Ed cried, both of us crossing our arms to activate the array, which cleaned the chalk from my arrays for body control while sinking the stone walls back into the ground. He crossed his arms alone, making me frown with a lone clap of my hands. He laughed in happiness and joy for his own freedom. Then I grinned, both in annoyance and in slyness, and with a slam of my hands, Ed was down and out, punched in the face by a large stone fist.

"There," I said, turning to Kris. "Your turn. You get Mustang. Cheers." I walked to the podium where the Fuehrer was, ready for my examination. I smirked and gave Kris a wave.

"You are amazing, young alchemist! Now, your exam papers said that you were 15? You're just around the same age as Fullmetal, and yet you seem to have a slightly broader knowledge of alchemy. How long have you been studying?"

"Well, I believe that it's been only several months… possibly a year." I stated this truthfully, knowing that it would do me no good to lie to the Fuehrer.

"Well! That's amazing! And now for your codename… Hmm… Ah! I know! You shall be the Black-Magic Alchemist, for your excellent practices in the field of controlling alchemy." I walked up, took my certificate, and then stepped back, bowing.

"Thank you, Sir," I said. I gave Kris a smirk and she smiled an evil smile, looking at Mustang, who looked incredulous at the sight.

"Mister Mustang? You may take your stance in the circle. Play nice now," the Fuhrer made a stern face, "She needs to be alive to serve in the military."

KRIS

We bowed. We stood. We eyed each other. Then, the fight began. Roy snapped his fingers, sending a wave of fire straight for me, but I blocked, making a box around myself. Fire can't get to where there's no oxygen. The only problem was, I couldn't breathe without it. I quickly dug a hole with alchemy, clapping and slamming all the earth in front of me. Then, I began to think. As I continued slamming, I tried to direct the ground into spikes, trying to remember where Roy was. I smiled deviously. He'd never see it coming…

MUSTANG

Kris had disappeared into her stone box. She had escaped the flames, but if she didn't leave soon, she'd die from lack of oxygen. I was beginning to worry… But then something made me feel that she'd be perfectly fine. This 'something' happened to be large stone spikes piercing the ground and coming straight towards me, and I knew that this was Kris' counterattack. She could get to me, but I couldn't get to her.

"Damn it…" I jumped out of the way, spikes missing me by inches, the whoosh of displaced air rushing around me. I snapped my fingers and caused them to explode in a sudden eruption of flames.


End file.
